Americans are reaching a height of activism in politics and government in 2010. They are empowered by an ever-growing amount of media coverage of politics and corporations, not only in traditional media, but also in social media, according to Vision Critical.
Based on their political knowledge and willingness to donate time and money, Americans fall into one of four segments:
Active Leaders (13%) are particularly knowledgeable about politics and government and are very outspoken. They volunteer and donate money to causes and individuals whose ideas they support. Nearly all are registered to vote and tend to be on the extremes of the political spectrum. They are more than three times as likely as the other segments to get news from social media.
Armchair Commentators (36%) are also politically knowledgeable and outspoken, but less engaged. They don’t volunteer, and few donate money to political or community organizations.
Community Joiners (16%) are reasonably knowledgeable about politics and are willing to donate time to causes they support. They are not outspoken. They are active with community organizations, but tend not to donate money.
Unengaged (35%) are moderate in their views and tend not to be particularly knowledgeable about politics or the government. They are the least likely to follow news in traditional and social media. They do not volunteer or donate money to community causes or organizations. They are also they least likely to be registered to vote.
Only a third of Americans believe that corporations are trustworthy, while a quarter think they are greedy and arrogant. However, the more knowledgeable the consumer, the more likely he or she is to have a favorable opinion of corporations — even for the day’s most reviled companies, such as post-Gulf oil spill BP.
An average of 39% of Americans have a favorable view of the 54 corporations in the Vision Critical study, but that proportion rises dramatically to 63% among those familiar with the corporations.
Consumers’ many negative sentiments towards big corporations include:
• Their executives care more about making money than the long-term health of the company (31%, on average for all 54 companies);
• The corporations put profits ahead of what is good for the U.S. (30%);
• The companies’ best days are behind them (25%).
In more general terms, they also think corporations are greedy (29%), secretive (28%), arrogant (26%), and idiots (23%).
Active Leaders are the most knowledgeable segment of consumers, and their peers hear their outspoken opinions. Active Leaders are more likely than the other segments to read news about companies in both traditional and social media. They have significantly more favorable opinions of Boeing, Goldman Sachs, Aetna, and Glaxo, and significantly more negative opinions of Halliburton, BP, Exxon, and General Electric.
Overall, 30% of Americans read news about corporations in traditional media and 9% in social media. Consumers’ opinions are affected by the media. When they read something positive (both in traditional and social media), they have a more positive opinion of the corporation. When they read something negative, they take more of a dim view.
For example, 86% of Americans saw news about BP in traditional media in late April 2010. Some 92% of the news was negative, and 77% of those who read negative news are now less favorable toward the oil company. A third of Americans (33%) saw negative news about BP in social media. Again, the vast majority (94%) said the news was negative, and 79% had a less favorable opinion of BP.
Affluent Opinions
Aspirational, affluent, and wealthy Americans — defined on a scale beginning with those with annual household incomes in excess of $75,000 — list technology brands as those that make them most happy, according to the Affluence Collaborative. More than a quarter cites Apple (27%), followed by Microsoft (24%), Best Buy (22%), and Sony (20%). Apple (51%), Microsoft (33%), and Sony (28%) also top their list of most innovative. At the opposite end of the spectrum, they most commonly cite fashion brands as the most boring.
Though the results may seem to be skewed by more affluent men, in fact, technology brands are also among those that make women happiest, mixed amid coffee and chocolate brands. [Brands & Branding]
Sources: “Reputation Plus+,” Vision Critical, Matt Worden, Director Business Development, 505 Fifth Ave., 18th Fl., New York, NY 10017; matt.worden@visioncritical.com; www.visioncritical.com. Price: Call for information.
“2010 Quarterly Report,” Affluence Collaborative, Julie Sacks, 345 Seventh Ave., 7th Fl., New York, NY 10001;
212-225-9306; jsacks@affluencecollaborative.com; www.affluencecollaborative.com. Price: Call for information.
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